After a somewhat quiet beginning to the year, UFC enthusiasts have recently witnessed a couple of championship belts change hands. However, one could be forgiven for feeling that something isn`t quite right regarding the present state of the different weight classes.
True, Alexander Volkanovski is once again holding a title, but this is largely a result of Ilia Topuria vacating his featherweight championship to move up to the lightweight division.
Yes, Jack Della Maddalena successfully defeated Belal Muhammad to become champion, but his initial title defense is scheduled against the reigning Pound-for-Pound king, Islam Makhachev. Makhachev, like Topuria, is stepping away from his current belt to compete in a different weight class.
Indeed, Topuria is getting his opportunity to fight for the lightweight title, though his opponent is former champion Charles Oliveira, not Islam Makhachev.
And this situation is just one aspect of the current confusion. There`s speculation that Zhang Weili might also relinquish her strawweight title to challenge flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Magomed Ankalaev, despite defeating the highly-regarded Alex Pereira, has yet to confirm his first title defense. As for the heavyweight title picture? It`s frankly a bit of a mess.
So, in light of all this, what significance does holding a divisional championship in the UFC really carry these days? It`s hard to pinpoint, and the average fan is likely feeling the same uncertainty. Because one thing is increasingly clear: while winning a UFC belt remains a monumental achievement in a fighter`s career, it means less than ever before when it comes to definitively identifying the absolute best fighter in a particular division.
Several prominent champions, including Jon Jones, Alexander Volkanovski, and even Islam Makhachev*, claimed titles that were vacant prior to their fights. The upcoming UFC 317 main event featuring Topuria and Oliveira will be the sixth instance of a vacant title being contested since the start of 2022. These championship histories are currently quite fractured, and with few champions opting to stay and defend their belts numerous times, this issue seems unlikely to be resolved in the near future, if ever.
Therefore, who can predict who will be holding the UFC championships by the close of 2025? And more importantly, who will truly be recognized as the undisputed number one fighter in their respective weight classes? Your guess is probably just as good as mine.
*Note: Makhachev won his vacant belt against Oliveira because Oliveira failed to make weight ahead of a previously scheduled title defense.
